$300,000 Stolen in Sophisticated Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize property belonging to Lagos-based fraudster Ehiremen Aigbokhan for stealing over $300,000 in funds meant for U.S. President Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration. Aigbokhan and his accomplices allegedly used a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme to deceive a donor into sending cryptocurrency donations to their accounts.
According to court documents, the fraudsters created fake email addresses mimicking the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee's email, tricking the victim into transferring 250,300 USDT.ETH, valued at over ₦400 million at the time. The stolen funds were swiftly dispersed across multiple digital wallets before the FBI intervened, requesting cryptocurrency firm Tether to freeze the accounts.
The FBI's investigation traced the crypto address associated with the scheme back to Aigbokhan in Lagos, revealing that part of the stolen funds were transferred to a account registered to him. Further digital forensics linked the fraudulent email accounts and cryptocurrency transactions to Nigeria, corroborating Aigbokhan's involvement.
The agency has seized 20,017 USDT.ETH from Aigbokhan's wallet and another 20,336 USDT.ETH from a connected wallet, totaling over ₦60 million in black market rate. The FBI is pursuing an arrest warrant for Aigbokhan in connection with cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering charges.